{"id":206715,"date":"2026-08-26T23:39:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T23:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/blog\/2026\/08\/26\/the-city-of-santa-monica-of-all-places-argues-that-the-u-s-supreme-courts-callais-decision-dooms-plaintiffs-claims-under-the-california-voting-rights-act-because-plaintiffs-cannot-prove-intentio\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T23:39:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T23:39:54","slug":"the-city-of-santa-monica-of-all-places-argues-that-the-u-s-supreme-courts-callais-decision-dooms-plaintiffs-claims-under-the-california-voting-rights-act-because-plaintiffs-cannot-prove-intentio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/blog\/2026\/08\/26\/the-city-of-santa-monica-of-all-places-argues-that-the-u-s-supreme-courts-callais-decision-dooms-plaintiffs-claims-under-the-california-voting-rights-act-because-plaintiffs-cannot-prove-intentio\/","title":{"rendered":"The City of Santa Monica (of All Places!) Argues that the U.S. Supreme Court’s Callais Decision Dooms Plaintiffs’ Claims Under the California Voting Rights Act Because Plaintiffs Cannot Prove Intentional Discrimination"},"content":{"rendered":"


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One issue that election law scholars have been debating since the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in Louisiana v. Callais<\/em> is the extent to which it affects the viability of state voting rights acts. On the one hand, Callais<\/em> was really a case about using constitutional avoidance to read Congress\u2019s federal VRA Section 2 to require something like proof of intentional discrimination and a likely-impossible-to-meet test. On the other hand, there is language in the opinion suggesting that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and the 15th Amendment\u2019s bar on race discrimination require reading any race-conscious district statute narrowly to avoid a constitutional problem.<\/p>\n

Well the issue is teed up in a case involving whether the California Voting Rights Act requires Santa Monica to draw districts that could give political power to some of its Latino residents. There\u2019s some irony in the liberal city making arguments to read Justice Alito\u2019s Callais<\/em> decision broadly. <\/p>\n

The state court judge will hear the city\u2019s motion in the pleadings on October 16, and this will no doubt go back up on appeal, potentially even to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the meantime, Santa Monica has continued to avoid complying with the CVRA.<\/p>\n

See Santa Monica\u2019s opening brief<\/a><\/p>\n

Plaintiffs\u2019 opposition<\/a><\/p>\n

Santa Monica reply brief<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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